An Unexpected Cause of a Cardiac Murmur in a Patient with a History of Hepatitis C Virus

Background: Pregnancy is a very crucial time in a woman’s life. In this period of time, not only multiple physiological alterations effect the usual health status but also makes women more vulnerable to contract infection and face negative sequalae. Hepatitis C, a blood borne viral infection serve the similar fate when encountered by pregnant ladies. This study is based on exploring the prevalence of the Hepatitis C virus seropositivity among pregnant population. Moreover, we also evaluated the major risk factors leading to the infection in these mothers. Besides this, infected mothers were studied for their pregnancy outcomes.Methods: In this study 114 pregnant females were observed for this cross-sectional study. It was conducted in Gynecology Unit- 1, Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad, for the period of January 2017 to July 2017. Chi square test was applied for statistical analysis on SPSS version 16. The criteria for enrollment in the study was set to be a pregnant lady belonging to age group 20-35 years; having singleton pregnancy; was a booked case at the hospital with compliant to antenatal follow ups; admitted to the labor room for delivery. All the non-pregnant ladies, whom had co morbid conditions such as hypertension or diabetes or had infected with hepatitis B or D were excluded from the study. Furthermore, pregnant ladies with multiple gestion or those who were either diagnosed of hepatitis C prior to conceive or had a previous history of hepatitis C were also excluded.Results: Present study revealed that out of 114, 10(8.8%) pregnant ladies were found seropositive for Hepatitis C virus. Prior history for transfusion of blood was the Foremost risk factor discovered, with 60.5% women reported this. History of surgery was the 2nd commonest factor and 43.9% had this in their medical records. On the other hand, only 8.8% women gave the history for previous evacuation. While observing pregnancy outcomes, we found 48.2% neonates had low birth weight, 41.2% were born preterm and 21.1% had low APGAR score.Conclusions: In a nutshell hepatitis c is prevalent in the pregnant population of this region and showing its effects in the form of compromised pregnancies. History of blood transfusion and previous surgery were found to be chief risk factors in the study.

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Population genetic history of hepatitis C virus 1b infection in China

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/vir.0.81360-0 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 87 (1) ◽

pp. 73-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Tatsunori Nakano ◽

Ling Lu ◽

Yunshao He ◽

Yongshui Fu ◽

Betty H. Robertson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Population Genetic ◽

Genetic Method ◽

Future Burden ◽

Hcv Transmission ◽

History Of ◽

Iatrogenic Transmission ◽

Unsafe Injection ◽

Reference Strains

Subtype 1b is the most common strain of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in China. Here, the molecular epidemiology and epidemic history of this strain were investigated by conducting phylogenetic and population genetic analyses of E1 and NS5B gene sequences sampled from nine Chinese cities. The phylogenetic analysis indicated the presence of two clusters of Chinese strains that did not include reference strains from other countries, suggesting that these clusters represent two independent chains of HCV transmission within China. The remaining Chinese isolates were more closely related to reference strains from other countries. The date of origin and past population dynamics of the two groups were investigated using a new population genetic method, the Bayesian skyline plot. The estimated dates of origin of both groups coincide with the period of the Chinese ‘Cultural Revolution’ during the years 1966–1976. Both groups grew at a rapid exponential rate between ∼1970 and ∼1990, after which transmission slowed considerably. Possible explanations for the groups' fast spread and subsequent slowdown are discussed, including parenteral transmission by unsafe injection, iatrogenic transmission by infected blood or blood products and improvements in blood safety since 1990. These results shed light on HCV transmission in China and may help to predict the future burden of HCV-related disease in the country.

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Natural History of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Children

Viral Hepatitis in Children ◽

10.1007/978-981-13-0050-9_11 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 157-162

Author(s):

Nicole Green ◽

Karen F. Murray

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Natural History ◽

Virus Infection ◽

Hepatitis C Virus Infection ◽

History Of

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Risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection. A case-control study of blood donors in the Trent Region (UK)

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268800051293 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 112 (3) ◽

pp. 595-601 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

K. R. Neal ◽

D. A. Jones ◽

D. Killey ◽

V. James

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Blood Transfusion ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Hcv Infection ◽

History Of ◽

Control Study

SUMMARYThe introduction of screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) by the National Blood Transfusion Service identified donors who had acquired HCV infection. We undertook a case-control study amongst blood donors in the Trent Region to determine risks for HCV infection. A total of 74 blood donors confirmed positive for hepatitis C infection and 150 age, sex and donor venue matched controls were included in the study. Fifty-three percent of hepatitis C infected blood donors reported previous use of injected drugs compared to no controls; relative risk (RR) not estimatable (lower limit 95% CI = 20). Other risk factors were a history of: receipt of a blood transfusion or blood products RR = 3·6 (95% CI 1·5–8·3), having been a ‘health care worker’ RR = 2·8 (95% CI 1·1–7·6), tattooing RR = 3·3 (95% CI 1·2–8·7), and an association with having been born abroad RR = 3·2 (95% CI 1·1–9·5). No risk was shown for a history of multiple sexual partners, ear piercing or acupuncture. Injecting drug use explains more than 50% of hepatitis C infections in blood donors, a group who are less likely to have injected drugs than the general population.

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Epidemic history of Hepatitis C virus in Brazil

Infection Genetics and Evolution ◽

10.1016/j.meegid.2010.05.010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 886-895 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Elisabeth Lampe ◽

Marcia P. Espirito-Santo ◽

Regina M.B. Martins ◽

Gonzalo Bello

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

History Of

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Natural history of liver‐related disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: An analysis using a Markov chain model

Journal of Medical Virology ◽

10.1002/jmv.25533 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 91 (10) ◽

pp. 1837-1844 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Toshifumi Tada ◽

Hidenori Toyoda ◽

Satoshi Yasuda ◽

Nozomi Miyake ◽

Takashi Kumada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Hepatitis ◽

Markov Chain ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Markov Chain Model ◽

Chain Model ◽

Hepatitis C Virus Infection ◽

Related Disease ◽

Chronic Hepatitis C Virus ◽

History Of

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Hepatitis C Virus Screening of High-Risk Patients in a Canadian Emergency Department

Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology ◽

10.1155/2020/5258289 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Kelsey Ragan ◽

Anjali Pandya ◽

Tristan Holotnak ◽

Katrina Koger ◽

Neil Collins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

High Risk ◽

Drug Use ◽

Hcv Rna ◽

High Risk Patients ◽

Risk Patients ◽

History Of ◽

Hcv Screening

Background. Approximately 0.7% of the Canadian population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and many individuals are unaware of their infection. Our objectives were to utilize an emergency department (ED) based point-of-care (POC) HCV screening test to describe our local population and estimate the proportion of high-risk patients in our population with undiagnosed HCV. Methods. A convenience sample of medically stable patients (≥18 years) presenting to a community ED in Calgary, AB, between April and July 2018 underwent rapid clinical screening for HCV risk factors, including history of injection drug use, healthcare in endemic countries, and other recognized criteria. High-risk patients were offered POC HCV testing. Antibody-positive patients underwent HCV-RNA testing and were linked to hepatology care. The primary outcome was the proportion of new HCV diagnoses in the high-risk population. Results. Of the 999 patients screened by survey, 247 patients (24.7%) were high-risk and eligible for testing. Of these, 123 (49.8%) were from HCV-endemic countries, while 63 (25.5%) and 31 (12.6%) patients endorsed a history of incarceration and intravenous drug use (IVDU), respectively. A total of 144 (58.3%) eligible patients agreed to testing. Of these, 6 patients were POC-positive (4.2%, CI 0.9–7.4%); all 6 had antibodies detected on confirmatory lab testing and 4 had detectable HCV-RNA viral loads in follow-up. Notably, 103 (41.7%) patients declined POC testing. Interpretation. Among 144 high-risk patients who agreed to testing, the rate of undiagnosed HCV infection was 4.2%, and the rate of undiagnosed HCV infection with detectable viral load was 2.8%. Many patients with high-risk clinical criteria refused POC testing. It is unknown if tested and untested groups have the same disease prevalence. This study shows that ED HCV screening is feasible and that a small number of previously undiagnosed patients can be identified and linked to potentially life-changing care.

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